About this episode
Economists have discovered an odd phenomenon: many people who use social media (even you, maybe?) wish it didn’t exist. But that doesn’t mean they can escape. SOURCES: Leonardo Bursztyn , professor of economics at the University of Chicago. Benjamin Handel , professor of economics at the University of California, Berkeley. RESOURCES: " When Product Markets Become Collective Traps: The Case of Social Media ," by Leonardo Bursztyn, Benjamin Handel, Rafael Jimenez, and Christopher Roth ( NBER Working Paper, 2023). " Social Media and Xenophobia: Evidence from Russia ," by Leonardo Bursztyn, Georgy Egorov, Ruben Enikolopov, and Maria Petrova ( NBER Working Paper, 2019). " Status Goods: Experimental Evidence from Platinum Credit Cards ," by Leonardo Bursztyn, Bruno Ferman, Stefano Fiorin, Martin Kanz, and Gautam Rao ( NBER Working Paper, 2017). " 'Acting Wife': Marriage Market Incentives and Labor Market Investments ," by Leonardo Bursztyn, Thomas Fujiwara, and Amanda Pallais ( American Economic Review, 2017). " Measuring Crack Cocaine and Its Impact ," by Roland G. Fryer Jr., Paul S. Heaton, Steven D. Levitt, and Kevin M. Murphy ( Economic Inquiry, 2013). EXTRAS: " Is Facebook Bad for Your Mental Health? " by Freakonomics, M.D. (2022). " Why Is U.S. Media So Negative? " by Freakonomics Radio (2021). Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.